Crockett Council Approves Tax Rate Increase Tied to COLAs

By Greg Ritchie

Messenger Reporter

CROCKETT — The Crockett City Council approved a new property tax rate, garbage rate increase and water and sewer rate adjustments during its regular meeting Monday, with the tax rate passing by a 3-2 vote.

Council members NaTrenia Hicks and Roy “Rocky” Simon voted against the tax rate.

The approved rate is $0.7668 per $100 valuation and will take effect for the city’s 2027 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. The rate is lower than the $0.7761 rate initially proposed during the city’s budget process.

The tax rate was one of several measures approved to fund the city’s 2026-27 budget. One of the primary costs included in the new budget is a 10% fixed-rate cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for most city employees, intended to help restore purchasing power lost to inflation since 2022.

City Administrator John Angerstein told the council that lowering the proposed rate reduced projected property tax revenue by approximately $39,000 while still allowing the city to adopt a balanced budget.

For a property with a taxable value of $100,000, the city estimated that the annual property tax bill would be $766.80 under the new rate, compared with $680.80 under the current rate. That represents an increase of approximately $86 per year, or $7.16 per month.

The ordinance also includes language stating that the rate will effectively increase maintenance-and-operations taxes by 12.63 percent and raise maintenance-and-operations taxes on a $100,000 home by approximately $98.70.

Those figures measure different portions of the tax bill. The $98.70 amount refers specifically to the maintenance-and-operations portion identified in the ordinance, while the $86 figure discussed during the meeting compares the total city tax bill under the current and new rates for a property with a $100,000 taxable value.

Actual tax bills will vary based on property values, exemptions and other factors.

Angerstein said the budget projects approximately $13.694 million in revenue and $13.684 million in expenditures.

The budget also includes a 16 percent increase in the street maintenance budget, police software and training, fire department hose, police rifle packages and a street sweeper.

During the budget discussion, Hicks said she did not oppose salary increases for city employees but objected to placing the additional financial burden on taxpayers.

“I do not have an issue with approving COLAs or salary increases for city employees,” Hicks said. “I could consider the salary increase for employees only if there was a way to financially fund it without shifting the burden onto taxpayers.”

Hicks said increases should be implemented in phases rather than all at once. She also called for a third-party audit of the city budget, greater transparency from city administration, cost-cutting measures and relief programs for senior, disabled, low-income and fixed-income residents.

She further raised concerns about what she described as the movement of money between departments without sufficient transparency or budget discipline. Hicks urged the council to avoid new taxes, utility increases and local fees while seeking more grant funding.

Angerstein responded to the concern about departmental transfers.

“For the record, there are no interdepartmental transfers that ever happen because it’s illegal to do so without bringing it before council and it’s voted on in front of council,” Angerstein said.

The council approved the city budget following the discussion.

The council also approved an ordinance increasing garbage rates by three percent, reflecting an increase from the city’s garbage contractor.

For residential customers with a 95-gallon cart collected once a week, the new rate will be $23.35 per month. That represents an increase of approximately 68 cents per month. The new garbage rates take effect Oct. 1.

Additional garbage carts, vegetative debris pickup, commercial collection, dumpsters and roll-off services will also be adjusted under the new rate schedule.

The council approved increases to the base rates for residential and commercial water and sewer service.

Residential water customers inside the city limits will pay a new base rate of $26.20 per month, plus 63 cents per 100 gallons used. Residential sewer service will have a $26.35 monthly base rate, plus 33 cents per 100 gallons and a $3.80 sewer meter fee.

The base water rate will increase by $1.53 per month, while the sewer base rate will increase by $1.68. The city said the consumption rates will not change.

The combined water and sewer increase will add $3.21 per month to the utility bill. When the garbage increase is included, the combined utility impact will be approximately $3.89 per month.

When combined with the estimated $7.16 monthly property tax increase for a property with a $100,000 taxable value, the city estimated the total impact at approximately $11 per month, or $132 per year.

The water and sewer rate changes also take effect Oct. 1.

Crockett Police Chief Clayton Smith reported that 16 officers worked 2,875 hours during July. The department responded to 444 calls for service, investigated 12 traffic accidents, made 49 arrests, issued 244 traffic citations, completed 76 reports and responded to 15 alarm calls. Twelve of the alarm calls were false alarms.

Smith also introduced Matthew Milikin, who was recently promoted from lieutenant to captain. Milikin will fill the position previously held by Captain Blake Gates, who left the department to work in the Dallas area. Smith said Milikin has been with the department for more than seven years.

Crockett Fire Chief Jason Frizzell reported 27 calls during July, including 17 inside the city and 10 in the county response area.

Frizzell described the month as relatively slow but said activity was beginning to increase as fire season developed. He credited residents for observing burn restrictions during the dry conditions and urged continued caution as temperatures remained above 100 degrees.

The monthly report showed no structure fires in July and no firefighter or civilian injuries or fatalities.

The council also received the proposed charter amendment propositions prepared by the city’s Charter Commission.

The commission voted unanimously on the recommendations after reviewing the charter and discussing possible changes, according to the presentation to council. The propositions were submitted to the council before the Sept. 1 deadline.

Council members scheduled charter workshops for Sept. 11 and 25 to begin reviewing the proposed amendments. The council may later hold public hearings before final ballot language is prepared.

Once the council completes its review, the proposed ballot language will be submitted to the Texas Attorney General’s Office for review before the amendments can be placed before voters in a future May election.

Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]